1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an apparatus for controlling a telephone and, more particularly, to an apparatus that includes a device sensitive to light in communication with a controller so that in response to ambient light below a predetermined level, said device provides a signal to said controller which then disables the telephone ringer.
2. Related Art
With ever expanding telephone usage, we are increasingly inundated with unwanted telephone calls. Anyone who has been startled awake at night by a “wrong number” knows that it is desirable for telephone subscribers to be able to disable the ringer mechanism of their telephones when they do not want to be disturbed. Thus, one could elect to disable a telephone's ringer while sleeping, eating, bathing, or simply while engaged in a quiet activity. Prior to modern modular telephone connections, the only method of silencing a telephone's ringer was to turn down the ringer's volume, or leave the receiver off of the hook. Now, one can simply disconnect the modular plug from the telephone itself or from the wall jack. With the telephone disconnected, the caller would hear a ring signal and assume the person called is not in, while the person called hears nothing.
There are, however, numerous problems associated with disconnecting a telephone's modular plug. First, this method requires the user to remember to employ the remedy. In addition, the user must also remember to reconnect the modular plug to reinstate telephone service. Thus, disabling a telephone's ringer via pulling its modular plug is subject to the same risks and problems that are associated with turning the ringer's volume down or leaving the receiver off the hook. People forget and, thus, receive calls at unwanted times or miss calls they are willing to receive.
Over the years, people have attempted to solve the problems addressed by this invention in numerous ways. For example, timers have been used in combination with telephone silencers to disable a telephone for time periods when the user does not wish to be disturbed. Similarly, there are commercial devices available that have on-off switches that allow a telephone ringer to be enabled and disabled. However, these too require that the user remember to employ the remedy in order to avoid phone calls, and then remember to reactivate it when willing to receive calls. Consequently, there is a need for an apparatus that selectively enables and disables a telephone ringer.